From: PAD
European Border and Coast Guard Agency

May 17, 2018

Dear Ms Izuzquiza,

Thank you for your interest in Frontex activities.

As your request falls under the regime of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, we will now forward your email to the responsible Unit and get back to you with an answer within 15 working days.

In the meantime, should you have any questions regarding your request or public access to documents process, do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

Transparency Office
Corporate Governance
Tel: +48 22 205 95 00

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency

www.frontex.europa.euPlac Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501
DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex, unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

www.frontex.europa.euPlac Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501
DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex, unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

From: Luisa Izuzquiza

Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.

On 13 May 2018, I submitted an access to documents request for:
- all Biweekly Analytical Updates for JO EPN Triton produced for the period starting 9 October 2017 to 31 December 2017, both inclusive.
A full history of my request and all correspondence is available here: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/oper...

My request was acknowledged on 17 May 2018.

On 22 May 2018, by letter with reference CGO/LPU/CMS-2018-00005-0343, Frontex denied access to the requested documents as, according to the agency, disclosure would “ultimately undermine the protection of the public interest as regards public security.”

To this respect, I would like to state that:

By refusing access to the requested documents, Frontex has committed a manifest error of assessment as evidenced by the fact that Frontex has previously released — not once, but twice — its Biweekly Analytical Updates for JO EPN Triton, without having caused prejudice to public security.

First, that the above-mentioned documents were, even if heavily redacted, released while JO Triton 2017 was still ongoing.

It is therefore hard to believe that Analytical Updates were considered suitable for release then, but no longer now, when the operation has come to an end and only an internal evaluation is pending.

Second, that the Court of Justice of the European Union has held that European institutions cannot validly argue that disclosure of information would "specifically and actually" undermine public security where documents that are comparable to the requested information have already been made available to the public (Case T-167/10).

It is worth adding, in relation to the cited case law, that in the present case the already-released information is not only “comparable” to that which is being refused — it’s practically identical.

Third, that Article 15 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states that “(…) the Union's institutions, bodies, offices and agencies shall conduct their work as openly as possible.” Furthermore, the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation also states in its preamble that “The Agency should be as transparent as possible about its activities”.

The aforementioned disclosures constitute factual examples of the actual possibility of disclosing this information without prejudice to public security, thus proving it is entirely “possible” for Frontex to be open and disclose the requested information.

I am therefore hereby calling on Frontex to:
- rectify its initial assessment that disclosure of the requested documents would undermine public security;
- release all Biweekly Analytical Updates for JO EPN Triton produced for the period starting 9 October 2017 to 31 December 2017, both inclusive.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any doubts or question in regards to this confirmatory application.

From: PAD
European Border and Coast Guard Agency

June 08, 2018

Dear Ms Izuzquiza,

Thank you for your interest in Frontex activities.

As your application for a confirmatory application falls under the regime of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, the Director of Corporate Governance will reappraise your application and get back to you with an answer within 15 working days.

In the meantime, should you have any questions regarding your request or public access to documents process, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Transparency Office
Corporate Governance
Tel: +48 22 205 9500

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency

www.frontex.europa.euPlac Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501
DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex, unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

From: PAD
European Border and Coast Guard Agency

June 27, 2018

Dear Ms Izuzquiza,

I am writing to let you know that, due to the need for further discussions with the business unit and the complexity of the case, we have to extend the deadline by another 15 working days, in accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

Nonetheless, we will do our best to provide you with the answer as soon as feasible.

Thank you very much for your understanding and please do not hesitate to contact us with any question you may have.

Kind regards,

Transparency Office
Corporate Governance
Tel: +48 22 205 9500

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency

www.frontex.europa.euPlac Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501
DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex, unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

www.frontex.europa.euPlac Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501
DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex, unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.